Limitations notwithstanding, the heterogeneity in estimates of alcohol trends is surprising, and underscores the importance of quantitative comparison of data from multiple sources when drawing inferences about national trends. Against the backdrop of this heterogeneity, however, surveys consistently found increasing rates of alcohol use for adults ages 50 and over, and increasing rates of binge drinking for adults ages 30 and over, with the largest increases seen in the oldest age group, 65 and over. Despite significant disagreements among survey series, these results leave little doubt that excessive alcohol use among Americans in middle-adulthood and beyond is on the rise, and this observation is concordant with data from other sources. A strong majority of binge drinkers likely do not meet criteria for severe AUD and so these findings do not necessarily portend a large increase in conventional treatment needs (Esser et al., 2014). Thus, targeted screening and brief intervention may be an effective strategy, particularly when implemented in primary care or emergency department settings, given that utilization of both types of services increase with age (Schappert and Burt, 2006). Furthermore,
